Scientific Genius: Brain or Quiz Factual?
by keesha tenelli
Summary: Brain has finally made a way to make science fun again: as the school's mascot, Quiz Factual. But just how many of his peers know it's actually Brain?
1. The Intro of Quiz Factual

The intro of Quiz Factual

It was a nice, sunny morning in Lakewood Elementary and it was 8:00 A.M. Brain had left for school to attend a student council meeting. The student council were meeting in a small room not far from their own classroom and lockers.

On the student council were: Arthur Read, student body president, who oversees everything that goes on. Basically, he was the glue to the whole group.

Buster Baxter, vice-president and Arthur's second-in-command. He helps Arthur with important decisions and takes over should he ever be absent for any reason.

Francine Frensky, student body treasurer. She was in charge of tracking the funds needed to put the school activities into action. Without her, the student budget would fall apart.

Brain, the student advisor, who comes up with all the ideas for the student activities. He also came up with the statistics to measure student activity in the school body.

All four of them had been appointed a month before the last school year had ended in May and the student body had all agreed that they would make a splendid team.

Everyone had just come in chattering away and it wasn't before long when Arthur knocked on the table with a gavel, which got everyone's attention.

"Alright everyone, settle down," said Arthur, loudly.

"Is everyone here?" asked Francine, putting on her fancy glasses frame. She scanned the whole room while pinching the right corner of her frames.

"Everyone's here!" she announced proudly as she sat down in a nearby chair. She took off her glasses frame and set them on her lap.

"Good, so as we all know, today marks a new school year. For starters, why don't make a list of goals that we want to accomplish for the year?" said Arthur, folding his arms on the table.

"Whoa Arthur, isn't that thinking a little too far ahead? Why don't we try to focus on one semester at a time?" suggested Brain, showing his palms.

"Yeah, but you both mean well enough to start off the year. Why don't we try to set a few goals at a time per semester?" agreed Francine. She turned to both of them with a gentle smile.

"So it's settled; we focus on this semester and then we'll see what we can come up with in January. Everyone agrees?" smiled Arthur.

"AGREED!" said the ensemble (minus Arthur), loudly.

"Okay, so any ideas? Brain?" asked Arthur, raising an eyebrow with a smile.

"Well, I have one; Over the summer, I came up with Quiz Factual," said Brain, pulling out his notebook.

"Quiz who?" asked Buster, cluelessly.

"Quiz Factual. He's my alter-ego. You see, over the course of last year's study, I discovered that our school's science scores has gone down in the past year. Due to the lack of attention, kids are not as interested in learning about science as much as they did just a year back. It seems like the methods plus the approach doesn't seem to appeal enough to the students," explained Brain, displaying the charts in his notebook.

"So what you're saying is that in order to get kids to interested in learning science again, you're going to bring in a character who will invent a new approach to the material and help spice things up once more, right?" said Francine, holding her chin.

"Exactly, and his name is Quiz Factual. He will go over an interesting science fact over the loudspeaker weekly and be the school's mascot. Basically, he's supposed to make science more fun and interesting outside of class," continued Brain.

"That sounds like a brilliant idea! I mean, the teachers can only teach us so much of the material, but the only difference is that we need to make it more fun to appeal to the student body. And with that appeal, it can help our motivation and boost up our scores over the course of the year!" said Francine.

"How long do you want him for? For the semester or the whole year?" asked Brain.

"How about the whole year? It's going to take that long to see any progress coming out of Quiz Factual's appeal on the student body," suggested Buster.

"Okay!" agreed Brain with a broad smile.

"What about the costume and funding for the materials?" asked Francine, unsure.

"I already made the costume and can use some of the materials I have at home. I'll let you know if I need anything else, Francine," explained Brain.

"Okay, so is Quiz Factual a yes or a no?" asked Arthur.

"YES!" everyone shouted.

"Just a quick thought; who's going to play Quiz?" asked Buster, scratching his head.

"Well, I was hoping to fill that role. After all, I came up with him and it was my idea," said Brain, shyly as he twiddled his fingers.

"Well, do remember that you're still student advisor and should keep track of your progress monthly," said Arthur.

"Alright, I'll do it!" smiled Brain.

"When do you want to start?" asked Arthur.

"I'll come up with a script and keep you all posted by next week," said Brain.

"Sounds good to us!" said Arthur.

"RIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!" went the school bell.

Just then, Mr. Haney popped his head in the classroom.

"Excuse me, class has just started, so I suggest you all get to class," said Mr. Haney, smiling.

"Yes, Mr. Haney. We've just finished so we're going to go soon," said Arthur.

Buster, Brain, Arthur and Francine all got up and packed their books and bags ready to go.

"Alright everyone, we're meeting again tomorrow at the same time and same place. Sounds good?" said Arthur.

"Sounds good!" agreed Francine, Buster and Brain.

As Brain got out of the room he thought to himself _Wow, this ought to be a great opportunity to show off my science skills! All that studying really paid off. This is gonna be one really cool year!_


	2. School Time Begins

School Time Begins (and so does the school year!) 

As Brain walked hurriedly down the hallway to science class, Fern quickly spotted him. She ran up to Brain, waving her hand while carrying her books at her hips.

"Brain! Brain! Wait up!" she called.

Brain quickly turned his head around and his eye caught Fern's face. His heart beat sped up rapidly the minute Fern walked up to him.

"Fern! Hi there!" said Brain, blushing profusely. He tugged on his shirt collar, smiling sheepishly.

"How are you today?" she asked, cheerily.

"Uh, n-not bad, you?" answered Brain, nervously.

"Oh, today is okay! I'm just so excited for the new school ahead of us already!" said Fern, excitedly.

Brain looked away, tugging his shirt collar again and gulped. Nice move, Brain! _Now _what do I say? thought Brain.

"Hey Brain and Fern!" said Arthur's voice from behind him. He came running up to them with Buster.

"Hey guys!" added Buster, waving to them.

Whew! Thank goodness! thought Brain. Don't know what came over me! What would I do without them?

"So what's up guys?" asked Arthur, smiling happily.

"Oh, we were just talking on our way over to science class," replied Fern.

"Oh, I, uh, ran out of things to say. Didn't know how to answer when Fern said she was excited for the school year," explained Brain, looking away.

"That's okay, Brain; you didn't have to say anything, you know," smiled Fern. She gave Brain a sympathetic look while he looked back smiling sheepishly and scratched his head.

"Guys, what class do you have today? I already know Fern and Brain have science class together," asked Arthur.

"I have science and gym class this morning. During periods 1 and 2," replied Buster.

"I have English and _then _Science," said Arthur, frowning deeply.

"That's okay! We still share a lunch period together," said Brain, cheering everyone up.

"That's right! We can still meet up at lunch hour together at the cafeteria," said Arthur, smiling.

"Cool!" said Buster. "We won't be separated after all!" he cheered, punching the air with his fist.

"So shall we meet at, let's say, 12:00 at the cafeteria?" asked Arthur.

"Yeah!" everyone agreed, nodding their heads.

"Okay, I have to get to class now! See you later!" said Arthur, walking away. He waved back and ran off into the hallways.

"So Brain, what else were you talking to Fern about?" asked Buster, nudging Brain in the arm. He winked at him with a smile.

"Nothing! Nothing important!" quipped Brain, quickly.

"Sure didn't seem like nothing. Your face turned bright red when you saw them! I witnessed it!" said Buster, slyly.

"It did not!" protested Brain, getting annoyed.

"I'm sure it did!" insisted Buster, in a sing-song tone.

"Would you just shut up and leave me alone, Buster!" dem

anded Brain, angrily. He turned to Buster and pointed at him. "I just don't know what came over me, okay? So shut up!"

With that, he walked into the classroom hurriedly without looking back.

Fern sighed. "I wish he could just say what's on his mind more often. It would help things a lot more."

"Why would you say that?" asked Buster, slightly curious.

"Because I care about him, that's all," said Fern, skeptically.

"As a friend or more?" asked Buster, pressing on.

"Why does it matter?" asked Fern, slightly annoyed.

"Because _maybe _it would help clarify things better!" exclaimed Buster, looking taken aback.

"Okay, fine! As _more_ than a friend, okay?" answered Fern, exasperatedly. "And besides _maybe _it wouldn't hurt…at all," she added, hesitating slowly.

"O-h-h-h-h-h…..I get it….you _like_ him, don'tcha Fern?" said Buster, smiling and nodding his head.

"_Please_ don't tell him I said that!" pleaded Fern, worriedly.

"Huh? Why not, Fern?" asked Buster, confused.

"Because he'll think I'm not good enough for him," replied Fern, sadly. "I'm a poet and he's Mister Smarty Pants! Straight A's in Science and Math and probably wants a girlfriend who'll be able to discover a new planet light years away."

"Awwwww…..don't worry about _that_ Fern, he'll probably think so, ya know," said Buster, reassuringly.

"You think so?" asked Fern.

"I know so! You're a smart, pretty and nice girl who's good enough for any guy out there! And even if Mister Know-It-All doesn't pick you over a super woman genius of some sorts, there's still plenty of fish out there!" said Buster, smiling proudly.

"Thanks Buster! That really helps!" said Fern, smiling proudly.

"Hey Fern, Buster! Get inside or else the bell's going to ring any second!" called Brain, popping his head outside the door.

Maybe he_ does_ care thought Fern as she and Buster ran right inside the classroom.

…...

Brain sat down at his desk and sighed. What kind of ideas can I present as Quiz Factual? He thought long and hard. He pulled out a blue notebook which contained a few sketches of Quiz Factual's costume design. It depicted Brain in an orange suit with a dark blue cape, boots and gloves. On the front, it said "Science is cool!" in yellow letters. He wore a dark blue mask with eyeholes which was tied at the back of his head.

"You know, this guy isn't as bad as I thought," said Brain, smiling proudly. He opened his notebook to a nice, clean page and took out his pen. "Now to write an introduction."

'Hello there! You're probably wondering by now who this is! Well, my name is Quiz Factual and I am a scientist. I've heard you are having trouble with science and I am here to give you guys a helping hand! Over the course of the school year, I will go over the announcements and give you fun science tips. We will do a trivia show over lunch hour each week and I will give out points to whoever gets them right! Who wants to play?'

Brain smiled as he skimmed over the script. Then he pulled out a pack of 36 index cards. Turning his laptop on, he searched for science facts and bookmarked certain pages he knew he could use. He wrote down each fact on his index cards then shut down his laptop for the night.

The next morning, Brain slowly went into school looking dead and his eyes looked sullen and half open. He let out a big yawn while at the same time held his books underneath his arm when all of a sudden...

"Hi Brain!" called Buster, happily.

The sudden shout of Buster's voice stung Brain for a few quick seconds before he went up to face Buster in the eyes.

"What's up, Buster?" asked Brain, groggily. He let out another big yawn, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Just happy to see you," said Buster, shrugging his shoulders. He put his arm around Brain's shoulders, turning his attention to his friend. "How are_ you _holding up, man?"

"Nothing much, just doing some rough drafts for Quiz Factual," explained Brain.

"Huh? What for?" Buster asked, confused.

"Well, I've been working on the introductory script and costume design. It's coming along well. I even came up with some references to the science facts I want to incorporate. All I need is an assistant to help move things along, like help make the costume," Brain continued, perking up. "You have any idea who might be able to help me?" he asked.

"Hmmmmmm….Buster thought slyly. If I could help set Brain up with Fern, it might move things along for them. They could make a really good team_ and_ a really great match! So let's do it!

"You could always ask Fern to help out as an assistant. She's a really good sewer _and _really organized!" suggested Buster.

"That's a really great idea Buster! I can ask Fern to help me out! Why didn't I think of that in the first place?" exclaimed Brain, gladly.

"Speaking of which, if you want to talk to her, she's right there in the classroom, preparing for class," said Buster, pointing her out.

"Thanks Buster! I owe you one! I'll even buy you a neopolitan sundae for dessert at lunchtime!" said Brain, running right into the classroom.

"Mmmmm….neopolitan sundae," said Buster, dreamily. He followed Brain into the classroom.

"Hey Fern!" said Brain, cheerfully with a big smile.

"Oh, hi Brain! You're looking cheery today!" said Fern, smiling back.

"Listen, Fern, I have a big project that I'm doing for school and I need _your_ help and sewing expertise! Will you please help me by being my assistant?" asked Brain, getting out his blue notebook and flipping through the pages.

"Why, me?" gasped Fern, in awe. She blushed rosy red and looked back at Brain in a sheepish smile. "You-you really want me as _your _assistant?" she asked, pointing at him.

"Why, sure! Why not?" asked Brain, shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay! Why not?" agreed Fern, shrugging her shoulders, sheepishly.

"Great! Let's shake on it!" Brain said, holding out his hand. Fern reached out and shook his hand in a tender grip. Fern and Brain stared at each other right in the eyes and each felt their own heart pound really hard. They both looked at the hands then back at each other and back at their hands before finally letting go.

"So, uh….when do we start?" asked Fern.

"How 'bout, my place after school?" suggested Brain.

To be continued…


	3. Fern and Brain Get To Work

Fern and Brain Get To Work (more than friends…or in denial?)

Hello there everyone! Sorry I haven't worked on this story very often. I have been very busy working on schoolwork and was off on holidays in December. I am back now and hoping to complete this work by the end of this week, latest this month. I am very thrilled that David Cohen (from Arthur!) wants to use this story in production for a possible Valentine's Day special, so I am giving him special permission to do so by connecting with him on and updating him as much as possible. I will keep you all posted and updated through this story, so hope that I can finish this all in time!

"DING DONG!" rang the doorbell.

"I'll get it!" called Brain. He ran up to open the door to see Fern standing in front of him, smiling and waving.

"Hi Brain! Sorry I couldn't walk home with you, but I had to drop by my place to pick up my sewing kit and workbook," said Fern, carrying a brown sewing kit box and book.

"No problem. Make yourself at home!" smiled Brain, letting Fern in. "Would you like me to carry that?" he asked, pointing to the sewing kit.

"Okay, thanks," she said. She gave the box to Brain and he carried it under his left arm.

"Let's go upstairs to my room," he said, running up the stairs.

Brain and Fern entered the room. He put the sewing kit box on his desk while Fern sat on his bed.

"So do you have the designs for your costume?" she asked, looking at him.

"Oh yes, I do," said Brain, grabbing the book in his bag. He turned the pages to show her the costume design and gave her the book.

Fern took the book from Brain's hands and looked at the designs in awe.

"Wow! Brain, these are really innovative! And it's a beautiful costume! I'm sure it'll be no problem creating it! Do you have the material for it?" she asked, looking back at him.

"Oh yes, I do. This is the original that I made." He showed her the costume on a hanger. "Could you help me make a backup just in case?" asked Brain.

"Of course Brain! Do you have your measurements?"

"Indeed, I wrote in the book. It should be no trouble at all!" said Brain, proudly.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, Mr. Perfect! I might have to measure you, just in case you're not trying to make yourself look good!" said Fern, smirking.

"You can't be serious! Now why would I want to do that?" asked Brain, shocked.

"Aww Brain, I just want to double-check your size that's all. But you know, you still look pretty cool even if your costume doesn't fit," said Fern, teasingly.

"Aw, thanks…Fern," said Brain, blushing slightly. He smiled at her while she returned the smile sheepishly and shyly.

Suddenly a voice called them, snapping Fern and Brain back into reality.

"BRAIN! FERN! Time for snacks! I made frozen chocolate-covered bananas!" called Mrs. Powers.

"We're coming, Mom!" called Brain. He grabbed Fern by the hand and they raced downstairs to the kitchen table.

"What have you two been up to today?" asked Mrs. Powers. She handed them each a chocolate-covered banana on a Popsicle stick in a bowl.

"Thanks Mrs. Powers. It's so generous of you to make these snacks. We were just talking about making a costume for Brain's character Quiz Factual," explained Fern, eating her chocolate-covered banana.

"So far, it's been coming along. Since I already made the costume, we're going to work on the back-up instead," said Brain, looking at his mom.

"That's nice," said Mrs. Powers. "I've always thought it's been so generous of him to helping out with the school in such a big way."

"Thanks Mom! I'm really glad I got your support along the way!" said Brain, cheerily.

"I'll go help with the dishes!" said Fern, grabbing her bowl with Brain's.

"Thank you, Fern," said Brain, smiling at her. He watched her go to the kitchen sink to wash the dishes and sighed.

Mrs. Powers seemed to notice and smiled.

"Looks like you have a crush on her," she said.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing that's all," said Brain, snapping his head to her.

"It sure doesn't seem like nothing. Are you okay?" asked Mrs. Powers, slightly concerned.

"It's fine, Mom," said Brain, annoyed.

"Brain, please don't take Fern for granted. She's very sensitive, don't hurt her feelings. Let her know how you feel," said Mrs. Powers, sympathetically.

"Mom, just let me deal with this on my own, okay?" said Brain, ignoring his mom. He walked up to Fern, grabbed a dishtowel and started wiping the wet dishes from the dish rack.

Okay, whatever you say, Alan, thought Mrs. Powers. She got up and left the kitchen.

….

The next day at school, Brain and Fern helped set up the chairs and table for the trivia show outside class. It was already lunchtime and Brain was already in his costume. He was hanging up a poster that said "Quiz Factual's Scientific Trivia Show!" with thumbtacks.

"Oh boy! I can't wait for this show to begin! Aren't you?" asked Fern, squealing with excitement.

"Yeah, I can't wait for it either, but I can't help but tell that no one is interested," said Brain, slightly solemnly. He looked around. There weren't a lot of people stopping by to visit their table and were just running to the cafeteria.

"Maybe you just need to hand out the flyers! I already made these ones at home and they should get everyone's attention," suggested Mr. Ratburn. He gave some to Brain and Fern to hand out. It read "Come try your luck at Quiz Factual's Scientific Trivia Show!" and had a beaker on the front with a question mark.

"Thanks Mr. Ratburn! These look great!" said Brain, in awe.

"_I'll_ hand them out!" shouted Buster, proudly. He was wearing a lab coat with goggles and an oversized pair of black rubber gloves. He took the flyers out of Brain's hands and started passing them out, while Brain looked shocked with his mouth hanging open. Fern simply giggled at the sight of Buster and handed out her share of the flyers as well.

"Buster! What are you doing?" asked Brain, exasperatedly. He slapped his forehead with his hand.

"Wha? What do you _think_ I'm doing? I'm helping you out!" said Buster, looking at Brain slightly confused.

"I mean, I thought only Fern and I could do the Quiz Factual thing! I didn't even ask for your help!" said Brain.

"Aw Brain, I figured that you might have trouble attracting contestants, so I thought I would give it a try!" said Buster, shrugging his shoulders. He grinned sheepishly.

"Well, I think we need you to bug off!" said Brain, taking Buster's flyers.

"Brain, he's just trying to help us. And besides, to make this show work, we need to _give_ the students a reason to participate, not just shove it in their face!" explained Fern, cocking her head sympathetically. She grabbed a box that said prizes and pulled each item out one at a time on the table.

"Oh, alright," grumbled Brain with a slight groan. "But just for today," he added.

"Now let's just set up the wheel that I made at home and we're ready!" said Mr. Ratburn. He pulled out a large turnaround wheel on a stand that had handles all the way around with a red wooden block attached at the top. It had sections that read Water, Animals, the Solar System, Plants and Chemistry as well as a black section covered with glitter and had a white question mark.

"What's that section for?" asked Buster, pointing to the wheel.

"_That _section over there is for random trivia questions. It can be _anything _that the host picks!" said Mr. Ratburn.

Just then, a few students came up to the table and looked around. There was a grey cat, a white rabbit with green eyes and a blonde haired cat.

"Hi there! Can we help you?" said Brain, cheerfully.

"What is this table about?" asked the blonde cat. "By the way, my name's Cecilia!" she added, shaking Brain's hand.

"Well, I'm Quiz Factual, host of this science trivia show. Would you like to try your luck?" asked Brain.

"Well, okay. If it's not too much trouble," said Cecilia, hesitantly.

Brain grabbed the wheel and spun it around hard. The red block landed on the Animals section next to one of its handles. He grabbed the index cards and pulled one out.

"Okay! The first question is: What is an animals with hooves called?" he said, reading the card. "Is it A) Herbivores, B) Ungulates, C) Felines or D) None of the above?"

"Ummm…is it…A) Herbivores?" asked Cecilia, hesitantly.

"Nope! The answer is B) Ungulates," said Brain.

"Oh…that's pretty cool! At least I know what that word means!" said Cecilia, cheerfully.

"May I try it?" asked the grey cat, stepping forward. "I'm Donald by the way," he added.

"Nice to meet you Donald! Time to spin the wheel," said Brain, grabbing the handles on the wheel. He spun it around, landing on the Water section. Brain flipped the index cards in his hands and read one out loud.

"Okay, this one is true or false. Water surrounds the earth by 70 percent: True or False?" he said, looking at Donald.

"Ummm….true?" asked Donald, unsure.

"That is correct! You win a prize!" said Brain, happily. He turned to Fern.

"Could you bring Donald a prize?" he asked.

"Sure thing, Brain," said Fern. "Which prize do you want, Donald?" she asked. There was a whole plethora of prizes to choose from. Stuffed animals, science kits, action figures among others.

"Ummmm….could I have a stuffed bunny rabbit, please?" asked Donald, pointing to a plush stuffed rabbit.

"Sure thing!" said Fern. She handed him the stuffed rabbit.

"I'll go next!" said the white rabbit with green eyes. "My name's Taylor," he added.

"Cool! Time to spin the wheel!" said Brain. He spun the wheel which landed on Animals section again. He flipped the index cards.

"What are invertebrates?" he asked.

"Hmmm…invertebrates are animals that have no backbone…like a slug!" answered Taylor.

"Correct! You may pick a prize from the table!" said Brain.

"Neat!" said Taylor, going to the prize table. Just then, a whole bunch of other kids took notice and decided to go over to the trivia show table.

"Hey, looks like there's other kids here who want to join in!" said Buster. He turned to Brain. "Looks like you have your hands full!" he added.

"No problem! Let's keep it coming along!" said Brain. He turned to the other kids as they all listened to his introduction speech and volunteered to play one by one.

Hmmm…looks like Brain is getting more and more popular thought Fern. I might _just _need to keep up with him. Fern perked up and paid close attention to the trivia show.

After the lunch hour was over, Arthur decided to show up at the table.

"Hey guys! How have you been? I didn't see you at our lunch table!" said Arthur.

"Oh, we have all been so busy today. We had a lot of kids come out to our trivia show," explained Brain.

"Yeah, it seems like Brain is getting more and more popular as it's coming along!" said Buster. He put his arm around Brain's shoulder and pulled him closer.

"Yeah, it may seem," said Fern, slightly worried.

"Huh? What's the matter, Fern? Is there something wrong?" asked Brain, concerned.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, that's all!" said Fern, perking her head up. She went to her locker and took out her books. "See you all in class!" she added, walking away.

"Hmmm…she couldn't_ possibly _be feeling sick, could she?" asked Arthur.

You have_ no_ idea thought Buster, rolling his eyes.

"Well, anyways, do you need any help packing up for the day?" asked Arthur.

"We're going to be leaving the table and chairs just inside the janitor's closet. It's just across the hall," said Mr. Ratburn, smiling.

"We'll help pick up the stuff and wheel," said Arthur.

"Great! Thank you for your help!" said Brain. He grabbed a box and put some stuff away.

Afterwards, Brain, Buster, Mr. Ratburn and Arthur all put their stuff away into the janitor's closet and went off for the afternoon. Brain took out his books from his locker and headed to his class.

"Man, this feels so good to be popular!" said Brain, excitedly. "I can't wait for the school year ahead!" he added, proudly.

Though I can't help but feel that Fern is feeling a bit off today after the trivia show. I do want to know if she's okay, but oh well thought Brain. He turned the right corner and right into class.

To be continued…


	4. Valentine's Day Love Triangle

Valentine's Day Love Triangle 

Dear Readers,

Unfortunately, this fanfiction is not going to be a Valentine's Day Special due to lack of viewer reception from the last Arthur Special. However, Mr. David Cohen would like for me to continue with this fanfiction by request. As a result, I am uploading this chapter just for Valentine's Day so please forgive me if it seems to deter slightly off the original storyline. I am trying to blend both the storyline and today's holiday themes together harmoniously. Please enjoy!

keesha tennelli

The next day, Brain ran right into the classroom with papers in his hand.

"Fern! Fern! Guess what? I just came up with a lot of ideas for the quiz show!" said Brain, excitedly.

"Huh? Oh sorry Brain, I wasn't paying attention," said Fern, confused. She focused her eyes on Brain.

"Check it out! I worked on these all last night! Our trivia wheel has replaceable wooden blocks with clasps attached, so we can do a section on body chemistry! About how we feel the way we feel about things sometimes. I'm really hoping we can try it out at lunchtime and they just made the new wheel block from shop class just today," continued Brain, skimming over his sheets.

"Oh wow, that sounds exciting Brain! We can give it a try sometime!" said Fern, happily.

"Alright!" cheered Brain, punching his fist in the air. He grabbed Fern's hands and began to dance and jump up and down. He stopped and looked into her eyes while she gazed back when all of a sudden...

"Hi Brain!" said a voice.

They both turned around and saw Lydia Fox sitting in her wheelchair. She smiled at Brain.

"Hope I'm not distracting you or anything! You looked lost in the moment," she continued, cheerfully.

"Oh no, no, not at all," said Brain, snapping out of the moment. He let go of Fern's hands and focused his attention on Lydia while Fern looked at him confused.

"I just wanted to know if we're still on about meeting after school so I can give you a hand," inquired Lydia, gazing at Brain's eyes.

"Sure! I can come right over to the library like you said! How about 3:30?" asked Brain.

"Sounds great! See you later, _Quiz_," said Lydia, teasingly. She wheeled away while Fern looked onwards in shock.

"You told her about the trivia show?" asked Fern, turning to Brain.

"Well, yeah Fern. I just felt like I needed to get her help, that's all. Nothing to it," said Brain, reassuringly.

"Brain, I thought _I _was your assistant! Why didn't you just tell me?" asked Fern, exasperatedly.

"Because I thought you didn't mind!" said Brain, looking shocked.

"Well, I didn't expect for you to go behind my back like that!" retorted Fern, slightly angry.

"Fern, I'm sorry, okay? And what's the problem?" apologized Brain, concerned.

"Nothing, okay? It's just, I thought this was gonna be _our_ thing that's all," said Fern.

"Don't worry about it! Not only is Quiz Factual smart, he is also genuinely nice! As long as I'm around, _he _has a heart of gold," reassured Brain, smiling gently at Fern who felt her heart melted right away.

"Awww…thanks Quiz, I mean Brain," said Fern, smiling back.

"No worries! You can call me that at lunchtime when our trivia show starts!" said Brain, winking at Fern. She smiled sheepishly and blushed with an embarrassed flush.

"Alright everyone! It's time for class!" said Mr. Ratburn, walking into the classroom. He set his books on the desk and began to write on the board from his papers in his hand.

Fern and Brain took out their books, pens and notebooks and started writing down notes.

…...

February 13, 2013 (The day _before _Valentine's Day)

Brain sat down at her desk, contemplating on what to do for Valentine's Day. He was thinking long and hard about what to do to impress Fern. He leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes. Write her a love poem? Nahhh! Too easy. How about a rocket ship? No, it'll take too long to build that! Or how about…body chemistry, why we're attracted to certain people?

"That's it! Now I know exactly what to do!" exclaimed Brain, jumping up. He grabbed some papers and got to work.

…...

Meanwhile, back at the Walters residence, Fern was lying on her bed just thinking about the same thing.

"I wonder, oh I wonder, what in the world I could do to impress him?" said Fern, pondering carefully.

"I made him this card but I wonder if it's good enough for him to notice?" she said, pulling out a handmade light red card for Brain with a heart on the front in small letters. She placed it on her face and thought for a moment before looking at the phone next to her bed.

"I know what I could do, call Buster. He knows some advice," said Fern, dialling Buster's number. She heard the phone ring on the other side until she heard him pick up on the third ring.

"Hello?" said Buster's voice on the other end.

"Hi Buster! I was wondering if we could talk. Can you meet me down at the Sugar Bowl in half an hour?" said Fern.

"Sure! I'll be right over!" said Buster.

"Thanks! See you there!" said Fern. She hung up the phone while she heard a click on Buster's end. Fern grabbed her purple coat and headed out the door while her mom heard her footsteps down the stairs.

"Oh hey Fern! Where are you going?" said Mrs. Walters.

"Just down the Sugar Bowl. I'm going to meet Buster in half an hour," said Fern.

"Okay, have fun!" said Mrs. Walters.

"I will!" said Fern, closing the door behind her.

…...

"So Fern, what did you call me down here for?" asked Buster, sipping on his strawberry and vanilla swirled ice cream milkshake.

"I called to see if I could give Brain _this_ for Valentine's Day," said Fern, giving Buster the card to look at.

"Wow Fern! I've never seen it even look so nice! I think Brain will love it!" exclaimed Buster, impressed.

On the heart it read:

"Brilliant

Receptive

Awesome

Inventive

Noticeable"

On the inside it said: "I think you're exceptional in every way. Happy Valentine's Day! –Signed, Fern Walters."

"Do you think I should?" asked Fern, hesitantly.

"Of course you should! I think that explains why you like him so much!" said Buster, giving the card back to Fern.

"I'm just a little worried about Brain that's all. He's been spending a lot of time with Lydia over the past 2 days on this Quiz Factual show. And I've just worked so hard on this card to get him to notice me," explained Fern.

"Don't worry about that! Brain can't possibly fail to recognize your genius! Besides, once he'll look at this he'll flip!" said Buster.

"Really? You think so?" asked Fern, lightening up.

"Yeah, I know so!" said Buster.

"Oh thank you Buster! You always knew just the right words to say!" said Fern, happily. She hugged Buster tightly.

"Hey! Watch my neck!" said Buster, letting go of Fern's arms around his neck.

"Sorry Buster! I'm just so excited! Now Brain'll know exactly how I feel!" squealed Fern, running out the door with her coat.

"Heh heh heh! Girls!" chuckled Buster, sipping his milkshake.

…

February 14, 2013 (Valentine's Day)

"I can't wait to give this card to Brain!" said Fern, excitedly. She drifted into a daydream where Brain accepts the card and they embrace each other so warmly. They leaned into a tender, soft kiss when…

"Fern! Hi there!" said Lydia, cheerfully.

"Oh, hi there Lydia!" said Fern, getting out of her daydream.

"Isn't Brain looking cute today? I can't believe what an amazing scientific genius he is! He certainly is cool," said Lydia, gazing at Brain who walked inside the classroom.

"Yeah, I guess," said Fern, slightly sad.

"Well, I'll see you later!" said Lydia, going inside the classroom.

Fern pulled out the card and stared at it. What if Brain chooses Lydia over me? She pondered. Well, we'll never know unless we try. She stepped into the classroom looking for a seat, when Brain suddenly waved her over with a smile.

"Hi Fern!" said Brain, waving.

"Hi Brain!" said Fern, coming over to sit next to Brain.

"You won't believe it, but for this special Valentine's Day occasion, I'm going to do a special section for this holiday! It's about sexual attraction, and I made it just for you!" said Brain, happily.

"Aw, really?" asked Fern, happily.

"Yes, _really_," replied Brain, sweetly.

Fern giggled sheepishly with a blush on her face. Brain put her hand on her cheek and they both leaned in for a kiss. Their lips touched each other softly, while Brain and Fern pulled away slowly and looked away.

"So uh, I made this card for you, I hope you like it," said Fern, handing him the card.

Brain took the card out of Fern's hand and read it carefully. He smiled softly.

"Thanks Fern! That's really thoughtful of you!" he said, smiling.

"N-No problem at all, Brain," said Fern, looking at him shyly. Brain put the card on his desk.

"Brain? There's been something I've been meaning to tell you…" said Fern, slowly as Brain looked in her eyes.

"There you are Brain! I've been looking all over for you," said Lydia, going up to them.

"Oh hey Lydia! Fern, I've been meaning to tell you, but I'm going to let Lydia be my assistant from now on," explained Brain, putting his arm around her.

"Wait, what do you mean?" asked Fern, unsure.

"Brain and I are now dating, so we get to spend more time together as boyfriend and girlfriend! One way we get to do all that is if we spend more time together on the trivia show!" said Lydia, excited.

"She's been a real help to me and even gave me a hand with the parts for today's Valentine's Day special!" said Brain.

But, you did it for me! Thought Fern silently. She felt angry and wanted to explode at Brain for doing something like this, but instead kept it inside.

"Okay…I guess, thanks for letting me know," said Fern, getting her things together.

"Where are you going?" asked Brain, concerned.

"To find another seat!" said Fern.

"But what's the problem?" asked Brain, pressing on.

"The problem is that you forgot what was important!" replied Fern, angrily. She grabbed her backpack and headed to the other side of the classroom.

"Wow, I wonder what's been going on. What's wrong?" asked Lydia.

"Nothing…but I may have just lost a friend," answered Brain, slightly saddened.

To be continued


End file.
